Video claims to show IBA Karachi students boycotting Coca-Cola, sparking online debate

An IBA Karachi student holds a poster.

Students of a prestigious college in Karachi, Pakistan, are reportedly boycotting multinational company and beverage giant Coca-Cola. A video has surfaced on social media platforms purportedly showing students from the prestigious management institute walking out of a recruitment queue holding placards as an official from the company started speaking. Several Pakistani journalists shared the video on X and said the students were boycotting the resettlement event to show their support for the Palestinian cause. However, the video sparked huge controversy on social media.

The video does not show the faces of any students or officials, and their faces remain blurred throughout. However, the scene appears to be an auditorium.

Students from IBA Karachi, Pakistan walk out of a Coca-Cola recruitment event. 👏#baikotpic.twitter.com/DwEX3OIGwW

— Aiman🔻🇵🇸 (@Leve_Palestine0) April 1, 2024

NDTV could not independently verify the authenticity of the video that went viral on social media.

In the video, some students can be seen walking out of the auditorium holding posters, and someone is speaking on the stage.

The video first appeared on March 27 and has since been shared by multiple users and has been viewed millions of times.

One user said: “Students from IBA Karachi, Pakistan, today sent a powerful message in protest against the ongoing violence in Gaza by withdrawing from the Coca-Cola Partnership recruitment drive.”

The war began when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. After the attack, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas from Gaza.

Pakistan, usually a harsh critic of Israel, initially took a cautious approach, with interim Prime Minister Anwar Haq Kakar saying in a post on X that he was “heartbroken” by the violence.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday urged international efforts to allow free humanitarian access to Gaza and to protect Palestinian civilians amid continued Israeli attacks.

President Zardari made the remarks when he met with Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Ahmed Javad Rabe in the capital Islamabad.

During the meeting, the Pakistani president pledged further relief assistance to the Palestinian people, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.